Rotary pump



April 15, 1969 A. J. HUTCHINS ROTARY PUMP Sh eet oft 2 Filed May 11, 1967 w M 9T I m2 flmw w April 15, 1969 A. J. HUTCHINS ROTARY PUMP Sheet med May 11, 1967' J Rm m N Z w u mfl d W W M United States Patent 3,438,333 ROTARY PUMP Aaron J. Hutchins, Fort Worth, Tex., assignor of fifty percent to Hubert R. Hutchins, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed May 11, 1967, Ser. No. 637,740

Int. Cl. F04c 1/16 US. Cl. 103-142 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This specification discloses a fluid pump characterized by:

(a) a housing having therein a chamber defined by a side wall and end walls;

(b) a rotor mounted in the chamber for rotation in the housing, the rotor having a conical-shaped inner end with a slot therein and being provided With a skirt extending beyond the rotor to accommodate an ungulate portion of a stator, the skirt having grooves therein in line with the slot in the rotor for accommodating a paddle;

(c) a stator disposed in and secured to the housing, the stator having an ungulate portion Within the skirt and with the truncate planar surface thereof adjacent to the conical-shaped end of the rotor;

(d) a paddle disposed in and movable in the slot, the paddle having a straight edge which is in contact with the truncate planar surface; and

(e) fluid inlet and outlet ports in the ungulate portion of the stator communicating with the interior and the exterior of the housing and separated by a partition; the inlet and outlet ports being adjacent to one another.

My invention relates to pumps and more particularly to valveless type rotary pumps.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved valveless type rotary pump that is simple to construct and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valveless type rotary pump which has a minimum number of moving parts and is more efficient in operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valveless rotary pump which is reliable in operation, and which is suitable for operation throughout a wide range of operating speeds.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pump which is capable of eifectively pumping a Wide variety of materials including gases, fluids, cement and other slurries, and even including slurries which control gravellike materials.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description taken in accordance with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional schematic view of a valveless rotary pump constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic elevational view of one end plate of the pump device of FIG. 1, the view being taken from the left of the plate as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3- 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of the operating parts of the pump of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main body portion of the rotor of the pump of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. '1 illustrates a valve less rotary pump 11 including: an outer cylindrical shell 13; a rotor 15 disposed in the casing 13; a first or right hand (as viewed in FIG. 1) end plate 17; and a second or left hand '(as viewed in FIG. 1) end plate 19.

The members 13, 17 and 19 constitute the housing of the pump. The outer shell 13 has flanges 21 at the ends thereof. A plurality of holes 23 are provided in each flange 21 for the purpose of bolting the end plates 17 and 19 thereto. A gasket 18 may be used to maintain a seal plate 19 and shell 13. Bolts '20 may 'be used to secure the plates 17 and 19 to the shell 13.

The rotor 15 includes a cylindrical main body portion 25 which has, preferably a flat outer end 27 (the left end as viewed in FIG. 1) and a conical shaped inner end 29. The outer periphery of the main body portion 25, in the vicinity of the conical shaped inner end 29, is recessed, as at 31, to cooperate with one end portion of a tubular cylindrical liner 33. The cylindrical liner '33 forms a skirt on the main body portion 25, extending toward the right, to and beyond the apex of the conical shaped end 29. The skirt 33, of course, may be secured to the main body portion 25 in any suitable manner.

It should be noted that both the main body portion 25 and the skirt 33 have substantially the same outer diameter, which is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the outer shell or casing 13. Wherefore, rotor 15 may freely rotate and move axially within the casing 13.

The conical end portion 29 of the main body portion 25 is provided with a semicircular shaped slot '35, and the skirt portion 33 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed grooves or recesses 37, 39 in the inner Wall thereof, which merge with the slot 35. The grooves or recesses 37, 39 extend longitudinally from the intersection with the slot 35 to a location near the right hand end of the skirt, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The main body portion 25 is also provided with a pair of holes 41, 43 which are directed thereinto from the end 27 and which merge with the semicircular slot 35.

A flat half-disk member or paddle 45, which has the general shape of a circular segment, with a straight chord edge 46, is disposed to tit and freely move in the semicircular slot 35. The paddle 45 is made, preferably, of a hard plastics material, but other suitable materials such as hard rubber, metal, and the like may be efiectively used in some applications. The arcuate peripheral edge of the paddle 45 engages a pair of suspending shoes 47, 49 which are disposed in the holes 41, 43. It is convenient to install resilient bias devices, such as the springs 51, 53, in the holes 41, 43, and it is also convenient that the springs bear against the shoes 47, 49 and against an adjustable insert member 55, 57 threaded in each hole, as shown generally in FIG. 1.

A rotary drive shaft 59 is suitably fixed to the outer end 27 of the rotor body portion 25, and it projects through an aperture in a boss 60 integrally formed on the end plate 19. A thrust type bearing and bushing 61 is installed in the boss 60. A gland nut 65 may be installed in the boss 60 for the purpose of adjusting the longitudinal position of the rotor portion 25 with respect to the end plate 19, and the nut may be held in position by a lock nut 66.

The right hand end plate 17 constitutes the stator of the pump. It includes a cylindrical ungulate portion 67, which is integral with a larger cylindrical portion 69 which, in turn, is integral with an outer circular flange portion 71. The slope of the inner truncate planar surface 73 of the ungulate portion 67 is substantially the same as the slope .of the conical shaped end 29 of the portion 25 of the rotor 15, and the diameter of the ungulate portion 67 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the sleeve 33. A suitable ring 75 is installed between the end portion of the sleeve 33 and the ungulate portion 67, as shown in FIG. 1. The ring 75 serves as a bearing for sleeve 33 and also a seal between the sleeve 33 and portion 67,

Both the ungulate portion 67 and the cylindrical portion 69 are provided with a pair of recesses or chambers 77, 79 located opposite the point thereof which is of maximum thickness, which in the form of the invention illustrated, is in the upper half thereof, as may be seen by referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The cross sectional form of each chamber is substantially a quadrant of a circle which is concentric with and which has a slightly smaller radius than the ungulate portion 67. The two chambers 77, 79 are spaced apart a short distance and there is a common wall or partition 81 between them. A strip 83 is inserted and secured in the partition 81 in any suitable manner; such strip 83 being made of suitable wear resisting material such as sintered carbide, plastics, or the like.

The edge 46 of the paddle 45 makes good contact with the surface 73 and the wear resisting strip 83, when the rotor turns, because of the bias of the springs 51 and 53, but there is some clearance between the conical surface 29 of the rotor portion 25 and the surface 73, this clearance being under the control of the gland nut 65. By adjusting the nut 65, wear between surfaces 29 and 73 may be compensated, but what is perhaps more important is that a certain amount of by-pass for fluid can be provided by changing the clearance, if desired. This serves to regulate the pressure and volume of the pump. The by-pass is between the chambers 77 and 79 across the wear strip 83 when the paddle 45 is out of contact with the strip 83.

Conduits 85 and 87 are formed in the flange portion 71, and these communicate with the respective chambers 77, 79. Each of the conduits is threaded so as to make connection to fluid conduits 89.

To understand the operation of the pump 11, reference may be made to FIG. 1, One of the fluid conduits 89 is a fluid inlet and is connected to a supply of fluid which is to be pumped. The other conduit 89 will, of course, be the fluid discharge conduit. Which is which depends upon the direction of rotation of the rotor 15.

Let it be assumed that the shaft 59 is rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow A of FIG. 1. In that case, the fluid conduit 89 which is connected to the chamber 79, is the fluid inlet and the other conduit 89, which is connected to the chamber 77, is the fluid discharge conduit. The paddle 45, of course, moves with the rotary member and the chord edge 46 is urged and maint'ained in contact with the truncate planar surface 73 by the resiliently biased shoes 47, 49. The paddle 45 is double acting; i.e., each half serves to compress fluid by causing changes in volume in the housing between that half and the partition 81. The maximum volume is the lower half of the housing when the paddle 45 is horizontal. The minimum volume exists in the upper half of the housing when the paddle approaches the vertical position.

The conical shaped end surface 29 is close to the planar surface 73 and the clearance is readily and easily maintained by adjusting the gland nut 65 within the boss 60, so as to axially move the rotor 15, as explained above.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the action of the paddle is both oscillatory and rotary. It is oscillatory at any moment about an axis, at the apex 91 of the conical surface 29, and it is rotary about the axis of the shaft 59. Thus, as the rotor 15 rotates, the paddle 45 both rotates and oscillates in such a manner that the chord edge 46 of the paddle sweeps over the truncate planar surface 73. When the upper portion of the paddle, as seen in FIG. 1, sweeps past the inlet chamber 79, fluid flows into the space within the sleeve 33 which is behind the paddle and between the surfaces 29 and 73. Then, as the paddle continues to rotate the portion of the paddle which is shown as the lower part in FIG. 1 sweeps around and past the inlet chamber 79. Thereafter, the original lower part (now assuming the position of the original upper part where shown in FIG. 1) pushes the fluid, which entered the sleeve 33, upward and into the outlet chamber 77; the fluid emerging from the chamber 77 via the outlet conduit 89. In continuing the cycle, the original lower part of the paddle, having rotated and oscillated to the position of the original upper part, now draws fluid into the casing behind it. Thus, a pumping cycle is completed,

It should be mentioned that fluid, which is being forced into the outlet chamber, will not reenter the inlet chamber because of the partition 81, mentioned previously, be tween the stator 17 and the conical surface of the rotor 15. Neither will fluid flow around the ends of the paddle 45, because the ends are restrained to move in the grooves 37, 39 and a fluid seal is formed in these locations between the paddle and the walls of the grooves. Actually, it is unnecessary to maintain physical contact between the conical surface 29 and the wear resisting strip 83, as explained above. However, the seal formed by a slight contact is preferred for maximum output and especially where pumping air or other gases.

While I have shown my invention in only one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A fluid pump comprising, in combination:

(a) a housing having therein a chamber defined by a side wall and end walls;

(b) a rotor mounted in said chamber for rotation in said housing, said rotor having a conical-shaped inner end with a slot therein and being provided with a skirt extending beyond said rotor and adapted to accommodate an ungulate portion of a stator, said skirt having grooves therein in line with the slot in said rotor for accommodating a paddle;

(c) a stator disposed in and secured to said housing,

said stator having an ungulate portion :with the truncate planar surface thereof adjacent to said conicalshaped end of said rotor and extending Within said skirt;

(d) a paddle disposed in and movable in said slot and having its terminal sections accommodated within said grooves in said skirt, said paddle having 'a straight edge which is in contact with said truncate planar surface; and

(e) fluid inlet and outlet ports in the ungulate portion of said stator communicating with the interior and exterior of said housing, and separated by a partition; said inlet and outlet ports being adjacent to one another.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which the inlet and outlet ports each constitute substantially one quadrant of the truncate planar surface of the ungulate portion of said stator on opposite sides of the partition where the ungulate portion is of maximum thickness.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 in which means is employed to adjust the clearance between said rotor and said stator.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 in which a bearing ring is disposed between the skirt end portion inner .periphery and the adjacent exterior of the ungulate portion of the stator.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 in which a wear resistant strip is provided in the partition between the inlet and outlet ports of said stator.

6. The combination defined in claim 1 in which springs are employed to urge said paddle continuously into contact with the truncate surface of the ungulate portion of said stator.

7. The combination defined in claim 3 in which springs are employed to urge said paddle continuously into contact with the truncate surface of the ungulate portion of said stator, whereby the clearance between said rotor and stator may be adjusted while always maintaining the paddle in contact with the stator.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11,776 10/1854 Carpenter 103--142 82,833 10/1868 Hersey 103-142 595,745 12/1897 Taber 103-142 3,121,399 2/1964 Hartley 103-442 3,150,600 9/1964 Hartley 103-142,

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

WILBUR J. GOODLIN, Assistant Examiner. 

